


Blue Rose of Earth

by TARDIStime



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Blue Rose of Illium Assignment, Dorks in Love, Ereba low-key wants to die, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Jacob is a troll, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Mutual Pining, Shepard and Garrus share a single brain cell, oblivious dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22121293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TARDIStime/pseuds/TARDIStime
Summary: “A blue rose is a flower of the genus Rosa (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow. Blue roses are often used to symbolise secret or unattainable love.”After Shepard assists her with her relationship problems, Ereba accidentally makes an astute assumption about the commander and her turian teammate.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Shakarian, Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 7
Kudos: 115





	Blue Rose of Earth

“It’s always good to see you Shepard,” Liara said, even as she turned her attention back to her terminal, “but I need to get back to work.”

Hint taken. Motioning her squad to follow, Shepard muttered a hasty farewell to Liara and lifted a hand in parting to her assistant, wandering out to the trading areas.

So much had changed in those two years since she’d been gone. Liara’s new attitude and interests shouldn’t have been as much of a shock to Shepard anymore (considering Tali was leading missions for the Flotilla, Garrus somehow managed to antagonize three mercenary groups into trying to kill him, and Wrex was now the head honcho on Tuchunka), but they were. She had to admit that the young doctor’s new confidence was impressive, but Shepard found herself missing the shy, sweet archeologist she met on Therum.

Following this thought, Shepard didn’t notice the scene at first, despite the raised voice. It was only when Garrus nudged her and nodded towards the source -badly hiding a smile- did Shepard feel her own laughter rising in her throat.

A krogan had firmly situated himself near some of the trading tables -quite obviously pointing himself towards the pretty Asari merchant at the _Memories of Illium_ store- and seemed to be... reciting... poetry? Shepard listened closer.

 _“Blue Rose of Ilium,”_ the krogan cried out, _“leave eternity unembraced and grapple in the glorious struggle that is us, here and now! I am speechless, not with blood rage, but with love, and I stand here...”_

Shepard really did try to hold back laughter. The krogan seemed sincere, and at least was not hostile. But the poetry was just so _bad_. Sharing a sideways glance with Garrus didn’t help, as it seemed he too was holding back laughter, and suddenly Shepard couldn’t quite suppress her snort.

“You think he takes requests?” Garrus mused, taping his mandible in faux consideration. “We could pay him a thousand credits to sit outside Liara’s office and serenade her. Bet that would lighten her mood a bit.”

Shepard laughed. “I don’t know who Liara would kill first; him or you.”

“Or maybe we could send him to the Illusive Man! Have him wax poetic about what an asshole the guy is.”

“No thanks.” Shepard laughed again. “I just came back to life, I’d like to survive long enough to brag about it.”

Garrus feigned a disappointed sigh. “Where’s your sense of adventure, Shepard? Not willing to risk life and limb to bring poetry to the masses?”

Still smirking slightly, Shepard shook her head and lightly hip-checked him.  
“I’ll leave that to you, Archangel.”

It was good that she could laugh over something stupid with Garrus again. Shepard had missed having him around when most of her alien crew had either left, or was muscled out by the Alliance; and it was good to have someone familiar on her team to defeat the Collectors. Miranda, Jacob, and the others’ skills were impressive, and their resolves were strong. But whether she could trust them was still being determined. Garrus she could trust. Implicitly.

What she couldn’t explain was why she tensed in fear for him every time Garrus needed to go on a mission with her. They both knew what they had to do. They were both soldiers. But that rocket to the face on Omega (that Garrus now loved to brag about) had scared the life out of Shepard. It was ironic; she had faced geth, insane rachni, rogue Spectres, and even a fucking Reaper; but nothing had made her blood run cold like those hours waiting for word from the med bay.

_I need you. I can’t lose you._

Shit. That sounded too personal. And possibly a bit... _romantic_.

Vigorously shoving that thought away, Shepard turned her attention to the asari merchant and frowned. As funny as the poetry was, the asari did not look amused, only deeply stressed. Maybe the krogan couldn’t take no for an answer, and the girl needed help? Whatever the situation, Shepard stepped forwards to offer her assistance.

Before she could get a word out, though...

“What do you want?” The asari snapped. She sighed, and raised a hand to her forehead, as if she could rub away her headache. “Sorry, sorry. That damn krogan’s love poems are getting on my nerves. I’m Ereba, welcome to _Memories of Illium_. What can I get for you?”

“Is that krogan bothering you?” Shepard questioned seriously.

Ereba looked alarmed and raised her hands, as if in defense.  
“No! No, you don’t need to hurt him or anything.” she insisted, then glanced over at the krogan almost wistfully. “He’s harmless. Which; I know, _Krogan_ , so I bet that’s hard to believe. His name is Charr. We’re kind of dating, but, well, we’re on a break. And he’s trying to show me how sensitive he is by wooing me.” She grimaced. “It’s _really_ bad.”

Ah. Well, that made sense. And was something Shepard was wholly unqualified to deal with. Diplomatically defusing a tense situation? Sure. Relationship counseling? ...Not so much. Still, one could give it a shot...

Shepard nodded towards Charr. “So why are the two of you on a break?”

The merchant sighed. “He’s serious. Serious as in talking about _kids_. Charr is a great guy to date, but for something permanent?” She looked at Charr again. “Krogans live long lives, it’s not like dating a human, where you just stick it out for a century until they die.”

An icy glare told Ereba everything she needed to know about Shepard’s thoughts on that particular comment.

“Uh! No offense!” She hastily apologized. “It just made me wonder if he really likes me or if he just wants kids. He can’t have them any other way, you know. Because of the genophage.”

“That sounds like a question you should ask him.” Shepard pointed out.

“I did!” the asari exclaimed, shaking her head. “I don’t he realized that our kids would always have been Asari. Non-Asari don’t always get that we’re not taking alien DNA, we’re just using it to randomize some of the genetic information.”

Ereba sighed, and looked down. “Anyway... Charr was quiet for a long time, then he said that he’d love our girls no matter what color they were.”

Shepard had to wonder... “It doesn’t seem common for Asari to date Krogan, what brought you two together?”

“He’s a fun guy! Really smart, especially for a Krogan.” Ereba may not have noticed that she was gushing, but anyone else could see it. It was obvious that she loved the poetry-shouting Krogan. “And he’s got a good job as a transport technician. It’s fun to join a mercenary guild or dance at bars for a few centuries, but eventually you hit the Matron stage, you know?” She waved a careless hand. “Then you get your back tattoo removed, let your scalp go back to its natural blue, and settle down with someone dependable.”

 _And loyal._ Shepard’s brain supplied helpfully _. And trustworthy. And dedicated. Someone like-_

_No! Bad brain. Do **not** finish that thought._

Unaware that her train of thought had caused her to unconsciously glance at a certain turian (and even more unaware that Ereba had noticed) Shepard gestured towards Charr, who was still soulfully reciting his poem.  
“You need to talk to your boyfriend. He’s just going to keep shouting poetry until you do.”

Ereba groaned. “I know! But it’s tough. I like him a lot... hell, I love him! But I don’t know if he’s permanent bond material.”

“Look at him,” Shepard said, “he’s obviously crazy about you.”

“Is he?” Ereba asked uncertainly, fidgeting with her hands. “I mean... what if he just wants to have kids? Am I just his baby-making machine? He said I wasn’t, but-“

Shepard cut her off. “If he said that, then you either trust him, so you have nothing to worry about; or you don’t, and you’ve already decided.”

_It’s nice to have someone to trust; isn’t it, June?_

_Shut up, me!_

Ereba didn’t speak for a minute; only rubbed her forehead again, as if it would help her think better. Then, she smiled.

“I... I guess I hadn’t thought about it like that.” she said. “And I _do_ trust him, if he said it. I’m going to talk to him. Here, I’ve given you a discount at the terminal. Thanks for your help.”

Helped a couple work out their problems, _and_ got a discount? _Nice_.

Shepard nodded in thanks. “Much obliged.”

Ereba giggled and shook her head. “Now that I think about it, I feel really silly for worrying so much! I know he loves me.” she gave Shepard a knowing look. “I guess interspecies couples have to watch out for miscommunication even more, huh?”

“Uh...” Shepard started, confused why the asari seemed to think she actually had an answer. “I guess...?”

“You know, I haven’t actually seen a lot of human/turian couples...” Ereba smiled again, then nodded to Shepard’s left. “But you two are really cute together.”

_..._

_Huh?!?_

Shepard glanced to her left, where Garrus looked just as shocked as she did. He at least had the advantage of not being able to blush, however; whereas Shepard could feel her ears and cheeks burning. For a moment, Shepard simply tried to scramble up enough brain cells to form a complete sentence. Then she and Garrus burst into objections simultaneously.

“No, no, no! We’re not-“

“-We aren’t a-“

“-He’s not my-

“-She’s not my-“

“-not that he’s not great, but-“

“-A guy would be lucky to have her-“

“-complicated chain of command-“

“-don’t humans have rules about fraternization...?”

Finally, Shepard got the correct sentence out. “We’re not a couple.”

Ereba looked horrified. “Oh shit, you’re kidding! By the goddess, I’m so sorry!”

“Fine! It’s fine.” Shepard smiled through clenched teeth.

“I shouldn’t have assumed! You just seemed very comfortable and in-tune with each other... By the goddess, I’m a moron!” The asari, now blushing as bright purple as Shepard was blushing red, covered her mouth with her hands. “You’re really not a couple?”

“We’re teammates.” Garrus explained.

“And friends.” Shepard added, which Garrus nodded to.

“Very _good_ friends.”

“But, ah, no. Not actually a couple.” Shepard finished, wincing as her voice cracked. Desperate for an escape, she locked her gaze on one of the other vendors. “Hey, look, weapons!”

As Shepard practically sprinted away, Garrus turned to the Mermories of Illium stock, and oh-so-casually pretended to browse. “Huh, model ships.”

* * *

Ereba could practically feel steam coming out of her ears as the red-haired woman dashed away. _Goddess, how embarrassing!_ To be fair, though, she was almost certain anyone else would make the same mistake. Their banter before they came to talk to her, the way they smiled at each other, the way they kept stealing glances... They were just so... couple-y!

With her face in her hands, she didn’t notice the other human -a handsome man with dark skin and intense eyes- come up close to her at first. By the time she finally saw him and realized that he was doing something on his Omni-tool, he had finished his action. Her own Omni-tool beeped, and she was surprised to find that 1000 credits had been transferred into her account.

“What...?”

“Consider it an anniversary gift or something.” The human said. “Go out to a nice restaurant together, move off-world, start prepping for some little ones...” He shrugged. “Your choice.”

Ereba blinked. “Um... thank you. By why-?”

“Because that,” the human cut her off, pointing over at the human and turian from before (who were now at the weapon stand together, but were very pointedly not looking at each other), “was one of the funniest damn things I’ve seen in _ages_. And anyone who can fluster Commander fucking Shepard deserves to be recognized.”

Ereba blanched in horror, but the human didn’t notice. He chuckled. “Those two need a push as badly as you did. Good luck with your boyfriend.”

The human strolled away, leaving Ereba -now as pale as an asari could get- to shriek:

_“That was **Commander Shepard**?”_


End file.
